Belize

House prices in Belize are picking up, after plunging in 2008 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

There are no official house prices in Belize, so it is difficult to measure how house prices have changed. However, according to the 2009 Coldwell Banker House Price Comparison Index (HCPI), the average price of four-bedroom houses in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye declined by 30% to BZ$478,830 (US$244,300) in 2009, after a 50% drop in 2008. Coldwell Banker’s 2010 Home Listing Report shows the San Pedro average listing price for houses (February to August 2010) 14.3% up to BZ$547,431 (US$279,300) on 2009 average prices.

The Coldwell Banker HPCI is an annual snapshot study, which evaluates the average sales price of 2,200 sq. ft., four-bedroom, and 2.5 bath single-family dwellings in corporate middle management suburbs in different markets, mostly in the US.

Belize real estate prices rose rapidly from 2000 to 2007, with the help of the tourism and construction boom, which in turn was assisted by the Retired Person Incentive Act (RPIA), passed in September 1999.

Prices of inland residential properties rose by about 15% annually from 2003 to 2007. In coastal and tourist areas, property prices rose as much as 30% every year over the same period.

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